A Solva man who moved to America in the 1960s, aged 21, recently reached the North Pole, where he proudly placed a Welsh flag.

John Hughes, who went to Ysgol Dewi Sant, St Davids, left for America to find his fortune, but he also discovered a love for adventure and travel.

The 63-year-old has travelled to over 100 countries and recently took part in a dog sledge race the Iditaroyd' in Alaska, covering 1100 miles.

Of his recent jaunt to the North Pole, he said: "It was a phenomenal experience. Actually being at the North Pole was extraordinary as, soon after we had put in our flags, the North Pole had moved as the ice we were on kept floating away.

"The dangerous part of the trip was getting to and from the North Pole, as we were flying on Russian Jets called Anatov 47s.

"The first bad sign was the seat belts, which had rusted shut. I then looked behind me into the open cargo deck to see barrels of oil on which Russian men were sitting, smoking cigarettes.

"We then got on a helicopter which took us to the North Pole. When we got there, to test whether the ice was thick enough, they threw a brick out of the helicopter, followed by a tyre and thirdly, just to make sure, they actually slammed the helicopter itself into the ice to make sure it was thick enough. After that they seemed satisfied."

John's sister Loretta Hughes, who lives in Haverfordwest, is very proud of her brother: "He's wonderful but these trips do worry me, I like it when he comes back safe."